Video: Candidates speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition Forum

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) hosted a forum on Wednesday with six of the GOP 2012 candidates. The forum provided each candidate with ample time providing 20 minutes of speaking and 20 minutes of question and answer time with the audience. The day was broken into a morning and afternoon session to fit everyone in. Worth noting is that Ron Paul was not invited to this event as the RJC stated Paul was too “extreme” compared to what they call “mainstream” GOP candidates.

Here are direct links to the morning and afternoon sessions courtesy of C-SPAN. Each session is over 2 hours in length.

The Republican Jewish Coalition’s Republican Presidential Candidates Forum on Wednesday served as a good snapshot of the presidential race itself. Six GOP candidates spoke, and while Mitt Romney drew a strong audience response, Newt Gingrich drew a stronger one.

But if the attendees could have nominated somebody right then and there, they likely would have given it to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who also spoke but has opted against running.

Their speeches gave a good sense of why. Romney came across as experienced, polished and on point but somewhat distant. Gingrich exuded smarts, self-confidence and threw out grandiose ideas that could be inspiring but also suggested a lack of grounding. Christie mixed the best qualities of the two.

The downtown Washington event offered each candidate a platform to make the case for themselves for a half-hour.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., ex-Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, ex-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Texas Gov. Rick Perry also spoke, but all eyes were on the two front-runners — and Christie, who spoke at a separate lunchtime event.

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was not invited. The libertarian lawmaker, a longtime critic of foreign aid and American support for Israel, was called “too extreme” by the staunchly pro-Israel coalition.

From all accounts, Gingrich seemed to have stole the day getting the most enthusiastic reception.

Nate Ashworth is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Election Central. He's been blogging elections and politics for almost a decade. He started covering the 2008 Presidential Election which turned into a full-time political blog in 2012 and 2016.

What is so “extreme” about cutting funding to the corrupt governments of Israel’s regional enemies, along with funding to Israel. What we are currently doing is idiotic and certainly doesn’t help Israel on balance.

The circus just goes on and on. Now the guy who was kicked out of the House, who wants child slave labor working for the 1%, who is twice divorced and who had an extra-marital affair with his current wife… hopes to gain the most from all of this. AMAZING!! More than ever, as I look at the sorry set of Republican “rivals” on the other side, I am THANKFUL to have Barack Obama as President, and candidate for re-election. Mr. Obama: your heart, your values, and your basic decency are all in the right place. But your hands are tied by a Congress that just lets the 99% BLEED, and then blames you. These people have no shame, or else it’s been purchased by those that can afford to do so. Heck, in her last years, Grandma gets a meager Social Security check, and they DARE to call it “socialism”. Give me a break! …and Grandma too. Instead of LESS government, instead of LESS taxes on the 1%, instead of MORE corporate welfare, and instead of MORE painful cuts to those who can LEAST afford it….we need a government that WORKS, a government that works FOR ALL OF US, not just for a favored few….NOT just for the rich. And that’s why we need to elect a Congress that will work with President Obama in his second term-instead of sabotaging both him and 99% of the American people. Mr. Obama: you STILL give us hope.

Obama is the biggest liar, promises promises. My main thing was for him to go in and hunt down these lobbying thieves and eliminate them(downsizing)… then I realized why things weren’t getting done and almost forgot Obama received $120,000 from Fannie and Freddie. Of course he ain’t gonna do a damn thing, he’s part of the problem. His heart? Man, Obama is straight out of ideas. If he raises tax one more time, how the hell is anybody gonna buy anything?!! What kind of bogus stimulus was that? If your gonna do stimulus it has to be a lump sum, even Bush knew that. I disagree with stimulus packages and eventually we’d have to pay it back somehow, but for our country’s economy I bought a tv with the last Bush stimulus. What the heck could I do with Obama’s…???, worst stimulus for us, a slap in the face, “here you go now shut up.” I can read him like a book-PHONY!! don’t let anyone of these candidates fool you, research them all especially what they have accomplished up until now. We are suppose to be about liberty(for the people) in this country and yet we get so much of our hard earned money taken from us to benefit the greed of these politicians. Ron Paul is the only consistent candidate up there, Huntsman’s ideas sound good as far as I have seen. People call Paul all kind of names, but I never here any real solid fact or reason behind this. Maybe reason for lack of debat America is just uneducated. Ron Paul is highly intelligent it just blows my mind sometimes. I hear people every day say how they loved George Washington and the founding fathers, yet they wish to vote for individuals who beliefs are way outside of the constitution. How can Ginrich be running neck and neck with Obama he has excepted over $1.5 million from Freddie and Fannie. Oh, I forget the media, that is the only education people get today(the BIAS media). I receive lazy answers like I don’t have time to research..Your country is at stake and you don’t have time? If people would only take the time to see what Paul has been doing while in Congress they would be truly amazed and very appreciative. No other candidate up here has a track record like him.

This is just another case of the “Establishment” ignoring Dr.Paul. When defending the Constitution is “extreme”, it’s time for a hard look at where the US is headed. He’s the only candidate who is not running for personal aggrandizement but because he’s been encouraged to do so and he’s aware of the peril in America’s future. If the populace allows the MSM to sway them with bogus polls and “newspeak” reporting, the totalitarian state is inevitable. The duped Democrats expected the constant wars to stop, a reverse of the police state, no lobbying influence, a stronger economy, secure social security benefits, and other illusions of grander through “change”, and look at what they got, and he’s stealing our freedoms quicker than his scatter-brained predecessor Idiot Bush. Congressman Paul has never flip-flopped on an issue, has never voted to raise taxes, never took a lobbyist-sponsored junket, never voted to give himself a raise, would stop the wars immediately, keep the internet free from government oversight, allow industrial hemp farms and legalize pot, go after the bankers who stole our money, remove the US from manufacturing-killing global free trade agreements, work for a fair immigration policy, strengthen gun-rights and more. If the MSM can force us to accept the Newt the way they gave us “Songbird” McCain last time around, it might be time to move to Mexico. Taking Spanish language lessons could be a worthwhile investment.

05/04/1979 – He voted for a federal land grab that put tens of millions of acres of land in the hands of Washington bureaucrats.
09/20/1979 – He voted to raise the debt ceiling for the first time.
09/27/1979 – He voted to establish the Federal Department of Education.
06/04/1980 – He voted to raise the debt ceiling for the second time.
02/05/1981 – He voted to raise the debt ceiling for the third time.
06/28/1984 – He voted to raise the debt ceiling for the fourth time.
04/02/1987 – He cosponsored the 1987 Fairness Doctrine (anti 1st Amendment legislation)
02/22/1989 – He cosponsored the Global Warming Prevention Act of 1989.
03/–/1993 – He was “passionately in favor” of sending $1.6 Billion in foreign aid to Russia.
11/19/1993 – He voted for the NAFTA Implementation Act.
11/27/1994 – He supported the GATT Treaty giving sovereignty to the U.N.
04/10/1995 – He supported Federal tax dollars being spent on abortions.
06/–/1995 – He wrote the foreword to a book about tearing down the U.S. Constitution and implementing a Fascist World Government.
08/27/1995 – He suggests that drug smuggling should carry a death sentence.
01/06/1996 – He himself conceived a secret CIA mission to topple the Iranian leadership.
04/18/1996 – He voted for Federal restrictions on laser sighting devices.
04/25/1996 – Voted for the single largest increase on Federal education spending ($3.5 Billion)
06/01/1996 – He helped a “Clinton Clone” Democrat switch parties in an attempt to defeat constitutionalist Ron Paul in the 1996 election.
09/16/1996 – He voted for the anti-gun Brady Campaign’s Lautenberg Gun Ban, which took away gun rights for people involved in certain misdemeanors.
09/25/1996 – Introduced H.R. 4170, demanded life-sentence or execution for someone bringing 2 ounces of marijuana across the border.
09/28/1996 – He voted for the “Gun Free School Zones Act” which resulted in schools being easier targets for shooters, and disarming law-abiding citizens.
–/–/1996 – He earned a “D” rating from the Gun Owners of America.
01/22/1997 – Congress gave him a record-setting $300,000 fine for ethical wrongdoing.
11/05/1998 – He resigned from his House seat three days after being elected to his 11th term.
10/13/2005 – He called for “universal but confidential” DNA testing of citizens.
11/29/2006 – He said that free speech should be curtailed in order to fight terrorism. Wants to stop terrorists from using the internet. Called for a “serious debate about the 1st Amendment.”
11/29/2006 – He called for a “Geneva Convention for terrorists” so it would be clear who the Constitution need not apply to.
02/15/2007 – He supported Bush’s proposal for mandatory carbon caps.
04/04/2007 – He says that there should be a clear distinction about what weapons should be reserved for only for the military.
04/11/2007 – He had a public debate with John Kerry on global warming, in which Newt agreed with Kerry and his views on the environment, praised his book, and almost hugged him.
04/20/2007 – He praised NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg; said that he “takes his hat off to the mayor for proving government can be effective.”
04/24/2007 – He praised the corporatist business-model of Freddie Mac, saying it would be effective for space travel to Mars.
04/24/2007 – He said about Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs): “conservatives should embrace [them] and want to extend as widely as possible.”
05/20/2007 – He would bypass the court system by establishing a “military tribunal system to lock people up the way Abraham Lincoln would’ve done it.”
05/20/2007 – He would “establish a nationwide ID card with biometrics so you can actually track everybody in the country.”
04/17/2008 – Made a commercial with Nancy Pelosi on Climate Change.
04/28/2008 – He said that allow some terror to happen, to keep the people afraid.
04/28/2008 – He wants yet another new Federal agency to be “very aggressive” against “terrorists” and have “extraordinary abilities” that are not restricted by the constitution.
09/28/2008 – Says if he were in office, he would have reluctantly voted for the $700B TARP bailout.
09/28/2008 – He says that McCain’s vote for TARP bailouts “is the greatest single act of responsibility ever taken by a presidential candidate”.
12/08/2008 – He was paid $300,000 by Freddie Mac to halt Congress from bringing necessary reform.
03/31/2009 – Says we should have Singapore-style drug tests for Americans.
10/16/2009 – He angered conservatives by endorsing super liberal Dede Scozzafava.
06/10/2010 – He’s cozy with VeriChip/PositiveID, a company that specializes in human-microchipping.
07/30/2010 – Says that Iraq was just step one in defeating the “Axis of Evil”.
08/03/2010 – Advocates attacks on Iran & North Korea.
08/16/2010 – Opposes property rights of the mosque owner in NYC.
08/16/2010 – Compares mosque supporters to Nazis
12/05/2010 – He said that a website owner should be considered an enemy combatant, hunted down and executed, for publishing leaked government memos.
01/30/2011 – He lobbied for ethanol subsidies.
01/30/2011 – He suggested that flex-fuel vehicles be mandated for Americans.
02/02/2011 – He says we are “losing the War on Terror”; the conflict will be as long as the Cold War
02/13/2011 – He criticized Obama for sending less U.S. tax dollars to Egypt.
02/15/2011 – His book said that he believes man-made climate-change and advocated creating “a new endowment for conservation and the environment.”
03/09/2011 – He blames his infidelity to multiple wives on his passion for the country.
03/15/2011 – Says that NAFTA worked because it created jobs in Mexico.
03/19/2011 – He has no regrets about supporting Medicare drug coverage. (Now $7.2T unfunded liability)
03/23/2011 – He completely flip-flopped on Libyan intervention in 16 days.
03/25/2011 – He plans to sign as many as 200 executive orders on his first day as president.
03/27/2011 – He says that America is under attack by atheist Islamists.
04/25/2011 – He’s a paid lobbyist for Federal ethanol subsidies.
05/12/2011 – He was more supportive of individual health-care mandates than Mitt Romney.
05/15/2011 – Said GOP’s plan to cut back Medicare was “too big a jump.”
05/15/2011 – He backed Obama’s individual mandate; “All of us have a responsibility to help pay for health care.”
05/16/2011 – He also endorsed individual mandates in 1993 when Clinton pushed Universal Health Care.
05/17/2011 – He has an outstanding debt to Tiffany’s Jewelry of between $250K – $500K.
06/09/2011 – His own campaign staff resigned en masse.
07/15/2011 – His poorly managed campaign is over $1 Million in debt.
08/01/2011 – He hired a company to create fake Twitter to appear as if he had a following.
08/11/2011 – His recent criticism of the United Nations is belied by a long, long history of supporting it.
09/27/2011 – He says that he “helped develop the model for Homeland Security”
10/07/2011 – He said he’d ignore the Supreme Court if need be.
11/12/2011 – He advocates assassinating Iranian scientists and covert war with Iran.
11/19/2011 – He said Barney Frank should be arrested for his close ties lobbying for Freddie Mac, just one month before it became public that Gingrich was also lobbying for them at the same time.
11/20/2011 – He has been outed as a paid lobbyist for drug companies, but he still denies it.
11/22/2011 – He supports the Patriot Act and would like to see it strengthened.
11/22/2011 – He says that matters of National Security should not be encumbered by giving Due Process to the accused.
11/28/2011 – He thinks its the job of the Federal Government to ban medical marijuana.
11/28/2011 – He is a Pharmaceutical lobbyist, and coincidentally thinks that non-Pharma drugs like medical marijuana should be banned by the Federal government.
11/28/2011 – He said he wants to be “aggressive” with Cuba topple their government before 2014.
11/28/2011 – He praised draconian drug penalties in Singapore for the second time.
12/01/2011 – His comments about warning Freddie Mac of its “insane” business model are proven false when his laudatory interview from 2007 surfaced again.
12/08/2011 – He pocketed campaign funds — including paying himself over $40K for a mailing list he already had.

*Yawn You’ve posted this several times already and it’s getting old.
Instead of attacking whoever the front-runner is, tell me: Who do you support? (I probably shouldn’t need to ask.) Again, who do you support? Please provide a long list of reasons why. I’m open-minded and I’m interested. Thank You.

Thanks for posting this info. Great job Thanks again. I had no idea in all my hunting Gingrich was a total flip flop-en RAT as your exposure details. Keep it up for all to see. The “News” (if that’s what its called) sure is not printing anything bad about Gingrich. They want him in there. A SHOE-IN they call it. I say “a turd in the punch bowl”.

Sorry to wake you up. This is the first time I have shared this list of Newt Gingrich’s record.

I stated who I support in my post immediately after submitting the list instead of adding it to Newt’s record.

I will gladly pull together a list of reasons why I support Ron Paul, in the meantime I hope that you weigh Newt’s record against his words and ask yourself if this is the person who is the best qualified to correct America’s problems.

“Sorry to wake you up”? Is that sarcasm? To be honest I’m not sure. The same list (a partial list with link to the full list) was posted on this website on Dec. 06th in the comments section of “Ron Paul hits Newt Gingrich with new web ad”. The user who posted it was William Stearns. So yes it wasn’t you, but the points you’ve used are word-for-word the same and are from the same source. I support RP’s message of limited government and ending (by phasing out) various departments in particular the Dept. of Education. I also think he his monetary policies and grasp of economics is superior to all the other candidates. But there are other candidates who just as strong in these areas. Anyway, I look forward to your list of POSITIVE reasons why.

“Sorry to wake you up”? Is that sarcasm? To be honest I’m not sure. The same list (a partial list with link to the full list) was posted on this website on Dec. 06th in the comments section of “Ron Paul hits Newt Gingrich with new web ad”. The user who posted it was William Stearns. So yes it wasn’t you, but the points you’ve used are word-for-word the same and are from the same source. I support RP’s message of limited government and ending (by phasing out) various departments in particular the Dept. of Education. I also think he his monetary policies and grasp of economics is superior to all the other candidates. But there are other candidates who just as strong in these areas. Anyway, I look forward to your list of POSITIVE reasons why you support him.

Shame on the all those who were instrumental in excluding Ron Paul from the Jewish Forum. American Jewish Citizens should remember what it was like to be a German Jew in the mid 1930’s when Jews lost their rights as German Citizens and they were EXCLUDED from much of German Society. Soon after, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels would begin his campaign of lies which would lead up to the Holocaust. Failing to invite Ron Paul to speak is tantamount to a suppression of the truth and is inherently regressive rather than progressive. It is a smear on what Jewish people have been taught and are supposed to stand for.

I was in a hurry. Let me try again. I like Ron Paul’s views on monetary and economic issues the most of all the candidates (although he’s not my actual candidate of choice). Then I wrote the others are “just as strong”; what I meant to write was “strong”. Hopefully that clear it up. Feel free to respond.

I was pretty clear from the video that Gingrich did not get the most enthusiastic response. He was not only received with lackluster, he was asked some confrontational follow up questions. Romney and Christie clearly had the warmest reception. I wouldn’t even comment, but the fact that you state Gingrich made the best showing is so blatantly false it offends me.

Ron Paul is a man of conviction with the guts to speak out and stand up for the protection of our civil liberties under the Constitution. He is highly educated, a military veteran, charitable, moral, honorable, experienced and knowledgeable in government, intelligent and well-informed about the policies he either supports or condemns as unconstitutional, harmful, government policies. He is a loyal Husband, married to his wife Carol Wells since 1957. A committed pro-life Christian who will not legislate in order to favor or impose his personal Christian religious beliefs on the people because it is unconstitutional. A Medical Doctor who refused to take Medicaid or Medicare but instead treated needy patients for free or low fees. Experienced in business operating a medical practice since 1968. Author of numerous articles and books about the economy. Congressman for 12-2yr. terms in the House of Representatives who still returned to his practice on Mondays and Saturdays. He turned down his Congressional pension that he would be entitled to in order to avoid receiving government money, saying it would be “hypocritical and immoral. and also declined to attend junkets. He believes in and proposed term-limit legislation multiple times. A Republican, Conservative, Constitutionalist, Libertarian and a man who has lived his life, worked and legislated staying true to his convictions.

As a Constitutionalist he has “never voted for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution” and as such doggedly represents the interests, welfare, civil rights and liberty of the people, not the state or lobbyist beneficiaries of the state.

Economics: Ron Paul alone diagnosed the cause of America’s economic problem, then he raised the peoples consciousness and blew the whistle on the Federal Reserve as the chief culprit behind the economic crisis. He is the only candidate to seek an Audit of the Fed which revealed 14 Trillion dollars in secret loans. He continues to press for a full audit and currently is the only candidate who predicted and warned against the economic crisis, who understood and explained the reasons for it, and who offers a viable solution. “Auditing the Fed is only the first step towards exposing this antiquated insider-run creature to the powerful forces of free-market competition. Once there are viable alternatives to the monopolistic fiat dollar, the Federal Reserve will have to become honest and transparent if it wants to remain in business” Representative of Texas’s 14th congressional district he serves on the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Financial Services, and on the Joint Economic Committee.
He is the chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology
and he is the only candidate who is serious about slashing spending. He consistently advocates for smaller government, lower taxes, fair trade and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracies. Paul argued against the $700 billion bailout proposal during the economic crisis of 2008. His vote was among the majority of “nay” votes cast to defeat the initial measure in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House passed a “sweetened” version of the bill, against which Paul voted a second time, later in the week.

International organizations: Ron Paul advocates withdrawing U.S. participation and funding from organizations he believes override American sovereignty, such as the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the Law of the Sea Treaty, NATO, and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.

The World Trade Organization: Paul states that the WTO is a barrier to free trade and Tariffs are taxes that penalize those who buy foreign goods. If taxes are low on imported goods, consumers benefit by being able to buy at the best price, thus saving money to buy additional goods and raise their standard of living.

International trade: Ron Paul is a proponent of free trade and rejects protectionism, advocating “conducting open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations”. He opposes many free trade agreements, like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), stating that “free-trade agreements are really managed trade” and serve special interests and big business, [corporations] not citizens. He voted against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), holding that it increased the size of government, eroded U.S. sovereignty, and was unconstitutional. He has also voted against the Australia–U.S. FTA, the U.S.–Singapore FTA, and the U.S.–Chile FTA, and voted to withdraw from the WTO. He believes that “fast track” powers, given by Congress to the President to devise and negotiate FTAs on the country’s behalf, are unconstitutional, and that Congress, rather than the executive branch, should construct FTAs.

Borders and immigration: Ron Paul considers it a “boondoggle” for the U.S. to spend much money policing other countries’ borders (such as the Iraq–Syria border) while leaving its own borders porous and unpatrolled; he argues the U.S.–Mexico border can be crossed by anyone, including potential terrorists. During the Cold War, he supported Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, intended to replace the “strategic offense” doctrine of mutual assured destruction with strategic defense. He believes illegal aliens take a toll on welfare and Social Security and would end such benefits, concerned that uncontrolled immigration makes the U.S. a magnet for illegal aliens, increases welfare payments, and exacerbates the strain on an already highly unbalanced federal budget. Ron Paul believes that illegal immigrants should not be given an “unfair advantage” under law. He has advocated for a “coherent immigration policy”, and has spoken strongly against amnesty for illegal aliens because he believes it undermines the rule of law, grants pardons to lawbreakers, and subsidizes more illegal immigration. Paul voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, authorizing an additional 700 miles (1100 kilometers) of double-layered fencing between the U.S. and Mexico mainly because he wanted enforcement of the law and opposed amnesty not because he supported the construction of a border fence. He believes that mandated hospital emergency treatment for illegal aliens should be ceased and that assistance from charities should instead be sought because there should be no federal mandates on providing health care for illegal aliens. Paul also believes children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens should not be granted automatic birthright citizenship. He has called for a new Constitutional amendment to revise fourteenth amendment principles and “end automatic birthright citizenship”, and believes that welfare issues are directly tied to the illegal immigration problem.

Foreign Policy: Ron Paul is the only candidate who really means it when he says he wants to bring our troops home and scale down our unsustainable and unreasonable empire. His stance on foreign policy is one of consistent non-intervention, opposing wars of aggression, covert activities and entangling alliances with other nations.
He advocates bringing troops home from U.S. military bases in Korea, Japan, and Europe, among others. He also proposes that the U.S. stop sending what he deems massive, unaccountable foreign aid.
In an October 11, 2007 interview with The Washington Post, Ron Paul said, “There’s nobody in this world that could possibly attack us today… we could defend this country with a few good submarines. If anybody dared touch us we could wipe any country off of the face of the earth within hours. And here we are, so intimidated and so insecure and we’re acting like such bullies that we have to attack third-world nations that have no military and have no weapons.

Ron Paul has the b***s, determination and weapons to protect our country if he needs to!

Terrorism: Letters of marque and reprisal
Calling the September 11, 2001, attacks an act of “air piracy”, Ron Paul introduced the Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001. Letters of marque and reprisal, authorized by article I, section 8 of the Constitution, would have targeted specific terrorist suspects instead of invoking war against a foreign state. Paul reintroduced this legislation as the Marque and Reprisal Act of 2007. He voted with the majority for the original Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists in Afghanistan. In April 2009, following the Maersk Alabama hijacking, he proposed issuing letters of marque to combat the problem of piracy in Somalia.

Ron Paul has enough commonsense and knowledge to use the correct legal process to go after terrorists.

Iran: Ron Paul rejects the “dangerous military confrontation approaching with Iran and supported by many in leadership on both sides of the aisle”. He claims the current circumstances with Iran mirror those under which the Iraq War began, and has urged Congress not to authorize war with Iran. In the U.S. House of Representatives, only Paul and Dennis Kucinich voted against the Rothman-Kirk Resolution, which asks the United Nations to charge Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with violating its genocide convention and charter.

Ron Paul intelligently advocates to let the U.N. do the job we are paying it to do.

Israel: Ron Paul argues that if the United States cares about Israel, the U.S. should allow them to be more independent. He states that “the surrounding Arab nations get seven times as much aid as Israel gets and also a recent study came out that showed that for every dollar you give to an Arab nation it prompts Israel to spend 1.4 dollars.” Paul would not stop Israel from defending its interests in any way it saw fit.

Habeas corpus: In the first Republican debate (2007) in California, Paul stated that he would never violate habeas corpus, through which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. This is also a pledge in the American Freedom Agenda signed by Paul.

Internet: He believes the internet should be free from government regulation and taxation, and is opposed to internet gambling restrictions and network neutrality.

Prayer: Paul believes that prayer in public schools should not be prohibited at the federal or state level, nor should it be made compulsory to engage in.

Airport security: Following the 9/11 attacks, Paul “opposed the federalization of airport security, the creation of the DHS and increased police state measures, but did propose legislation that would allow airline pilots to begin carrying firearms in cockpits”, on the theory that “it’s much harder for terrorists to commandeer an airplane when pilots can fight back.

Gun Rights: The only 2008 presidential candidate to earn Gun Owners of America’s A+ rating, Paul has been a lead sponsor of legislation in Congress attempting to maintain individual Second Amendment rights. He has also fought for the right of pilots to be armed.

PATRIOT Act: Paul broke with his party by voting against the PATRIOT Act in 2001; he also voted against its 2005 enactment. He has said, “Everything we have done in response to the 9-11 attacks, from the Patriot Act to the war in Iraq, has reduced freedom in America.” He has spoken against federal use of what he defines as torture and what he sees as an abuse of executive authority during the Iraq War to override Constitutional rights.

REAL ID Act: Paul voted against the REAL ID Act of 2005, an Act to create federal identification-card standards, which has been challenged as violating the Constitutional separation of powers doctrine, and other civil liberties.

Domestic surveillance: Paul has spoken against the domestic surveillance program conducted by the National Security Agency on American citizens. He believes the role of government is to protect American citizens’ privacy, not violate it. He has signed the American Freedom Agenda pledge not to violate Americans’ rights through domestic wiretapping and to renounce autonomous presidential signing statements, which rely on unitary executive theory. In December 2007, he stated his opposition to the US House Resolution 1955, arguing that it “focuses the weight of the US government inward toward its own citizens under the guise of protecting us against violent radicalization.”

Conscription: Ron Paul is strongly opposed to reintroducing the draft. In 2002, he authored and introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives expressing that reinstatement of a draft would be unnecessary and detrimental to individual liberties, a resolution that was endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union. In the 110th Congress, he has proposed a bill which would end Selective Service registration.

Eminent domain: Paul opposes eminent domain. He wishes to “stop special interests from violating property rights and literally driving families from their homes, farms and ranches”. He opposes “regulatory takings … Governments deprive property owners of significant value and use of their properties—all without paying ‘just compensation'”.

Social Security: Ron Paul will protect Social Security for those who depend on it. He has given 12 updates on his Texas Straight Talk archive on the issue of Social Security. Paul says that Social Security is in “bad shape … The numbers aren’t there”; funds are depleting because Congress borrows from the Social Security fund every year to fund its budget. He considers himself the rare member of Congress who has voted for such little spending that it has never required borrowing from existing Social Security funds. To stem the Social Security crisis and meet the commitment to elderly citizens who depend on it, he requires that Congress cut down on spending, reassess monetary and spending policies, and stop borrowing heavily from foreign investors, such as those in China, who hold U.S. Treasury bonds. Paul believes young Americans should be able to opt out of the system if they would not like to pay Social Security taxes, in order to protect the system.

Affirmative action: In 1997, Ron Paul voted to end affirmative action in college admissions. Paul criticizes both racism and obsession with racial identity: Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism, the mindset that views humans strictly as members of groups rather than individuals. Racists believe that all individuals who share superficial physical characteristics are alike: as collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups. By encouraging Americans to adopt a group mentality, the advocates of so-called “diversity” actually perpetuate racism. Their obsession with racial group identity is inherently racist.

Prostitution: In a South Carolina Republican Presidential Candidate debate in May 2011, Paul affirmed his belief that the Constitution grants American citizens the right to do “controversial things” as long as they do not hurt or defame other people and that the federal government should not infringe on those right.

Same-sex unions: Ron Paul opposes all federal efforts to define marriage, whether defined as a union between one man and one woman, or defined as including anything else as well. He believes that recognizing or legislating marriages should be left to the states, and not subjected to “judicial activism”. He has stated that he supported the right of gay couples to marry, so long as they didn’t “impose” their relationship on anyone else, on the grounds of supporting voluntary associations.

Drug prohibition: Ron Paul contends that prohibition of drugs is ineffective and advocates ending the War on Drugs. “Prohibition doesn’t work. Prohibition causes crime.” He believes that drug abuse should be treated as a medical problem, “We treat alcoholism now as a medical problem and I, as a physician, think we should treat drug addiction as a medical problem and not as a crime.” The Constitution does not enumerate or delegate to Congress the authority to ban or regulate drugs in general. “Speaking specifically about Drug Enforcement Administration raids on medical marijuana clinics Paul said, “They’re unconstitutional”, and went on to advocate states’ rights and personal choice: “You’re not being compassionate by taking medical marijuana from someone who’s suffering from cancer or AIDS … People should have freedom of choice. We certainly should respect the law and the law says that states should be able to determine this”.
Ron Paul favors the right to use marijuana as a medical option. He was cosponsor of H.R. 2592, the States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana Act. He is currently a supporter of the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008. Paul has joined prominent Progressive Democrats in urging that states be allowed to permit farmers to grow industrial hemp, which currently is defined as a controlled substance. He contends that this would help North Dakota and other agriculture states, where farmers have requested the ability to farm hemp for years.

States’ rights: Ron Paul’s positions on civil liberties are often based on states’ rights, certain rights and political powers that U.S. states possess in relation to the federal government. He comments on the Tenth Amendment, “States’ rights simply means the individual states should retain authority over all matters not expressly delegated to the federal government in Article I of the Constitution.” For instance, the lack of federal murder statutes makes murder a state and local offense.

Education: Ron Paul has asserted that he does not think there should be any federal control over education and education should be handled at a local and state level. He opposes the federal No Child Left Behind Act, voting against it in 2001 and remaining opposed to it as an ineffective federal program. Paul has proposed the use of education tax credits, included in his bill the Family Education Freedom Act (H.R. 612), which provides a $3,000 tax credit to families to choose their own schools. He has also introduced the Education Improvement Tax Cut Act, which would provide for a tax credit for up to a $3,000 donation to the public or private school of the taxpayer’s choice, which would provide accountability and more money to America’s schools from a local level. Paul has also proposed tax credits of $5,000 per year for each family, which could be used for any school-related expenses, whether the children of the family attend public or private school or are home-schooled.

Health policy: Ron Paul has called for passage of tax relief bills to reduce health care costs for families: He would support a tax credit for senior citizens who need to pay for costly prescription drugs. He would also allow them to import drugs from other countries at lower prices. He has called for health savings accounts that allow for tax-free savings to be used to pay for prescriptions.
H.R. 3075 allows families to claim a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for health insurance premiums.
H.R. 3076 provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit that permits consumers to purchase “negative outcomes” insurance prior to undergoing surgery or other serious medical treatments. Negative outcomes insurance is a novel approach that guarantees those harmed receive fair compensation, while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system. Patients receive this insurance payout without having to endure lengthy lawsuits, and without having to give away a large portion of their award to a trial lawyer. This also drastically reduces the costs imposed on physicians and hospitals by malpractice litigation. Under HR 3076, individuals who pay taxes can purchase negative outcomes insurance at essentially no cost.
H.R. 3077 creates a $500 per child tax credit for medical expenses and prescription drugs that are not reimbursed by insurance. It also creates a $3,000 tax credit for dependent children with terminal illnesses, cancer, or disabilities.
H.R. 3078 waives the employee portion of Social Security payroll taxes (or self-employment taxes) for individuals with documented serious illnesses or cancer. It also suspends Social Security taxes for primary caregivers with a sick spouse or child.

Paul voted for the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, which would allow the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to get the best price for drugs provided in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

Paul rejects universal health care, believing that the more government interferes in medicine, the higher prices rise and the less efficient care becomes. He points to how many people today are upset with the HMO system, but few people realize that HMOs came about because of a federal mandate in 1973. He also points to the 1974 ERISA law that grants tax benefits to employers for providing insurance but not individuals; he prefers a system which grants tax credits to individuals. He supports the U.S. converting to a free market health care system, saying in an interview on New Hampshire NPR that the present system is akin to a “corporatist-fascist” system which keeps prices high. He says that in industries with freer markets prices go down due to technological innovation, but because of the corporatist system, this is prevented from happening in health care. He opposes socialized health care promoted by Democrats as being harmful because they lead to bigger and less efficient government.

Paul has said that although he prefers tax credits to socialized medicine, he would be willing to “prop up” the current systems of Medicare and Medicaid with money saved by bringing troops home from foreign bases in places such as those in South Korea.

He opposes government regulation of vitamins and minerals, observing that the Codex Alimentarius proposal would even require a prescription for basic vitamins.

The Constitution is Ron Paul’s divining rod and he adheres to it more than any other candidate. The proper order for governmental authority he gave is; individual, community, state, federal, and last global….if at all. The Constitution is the American people’s only protection, Ron Paul knows it and he want’s us to know it and recognize, that we are participating in the end of our country if we continue to permit it’s circumvention for personal agenda’s. There is only one Ron Paul he is campaigning for America and us and there is only one candidate who can beat Obama this is why I and millions of Liberty loving individuals support Ron Paul and only Ron Paul’s nomination as the Republican Party nominee and President of The United States.

Seeing what Ron Paul has to offer is good, but what about the other big issue items that are controversial that were not mentioned here? If I have to list them then they are particularly not talked about for a reason. I am a conservative and I like what I read. I don’t like the fact that there are holes in the text above. Fill them in and you might have me convinced that Dr. Paul is the correct choice, leave them empty and I will know there is more behind the scene not being exposed.

You will always be what you have always been, if you always do what you have always done!

Mark
I posted MY personal reasons for supporting Ron Paul in answer to Chris (CA’s) request. and it’s possible I may have even overlooked some that are important to me. This took two days to accomplish with my dominant hand and arm in a cast so it is the best I can do under the circumstances to answer Chris (CA).

You neglected to mention which questions concern, nor can I guess, but whatever they are I recommend taking some time out of your day to research and answer them I have no doubt that you can find your answers.

I love Ron Paul’s libertarian stance and his adherence to the constitution, more politicians ought to follow his example in this regard, however, I think Paul is dead wrong on his foreign policy positions.

I think Paul is wildly naive when it comes to the Islamic world, its motivations and its ambitions.